cannabisnews.com: Activists Say State Must Do U-Turn Activists Say State Must Do U-Turn Posted by FoM on November 18, 1999 at 10:19:57 PT By Dawson Bell, Free Press Lansing Bureau Source: Detroit Free Press The constitution of the State of Michigan is fine as far as it goes.But wouldn't it be better if it included provisions to make the personal use and possession of marijuana legal, and prohibited lawsuits against gun manufacturers and tobacco companies? A small but ambitious group of political activists based in Saginaw thinks so. They're mounting a campaign for the Personal Responsibility Amendment.The PRA committee plans to begin collecting signatures in January and hopes the issue will be on the Michigan ballot in November 2000, organizer Greg Schmid said Wednesday.Schmid is a 39-year-old lawyer who doesn't smoke, own a gun or use marijuana. He said the state is headed in the wrong direction.Prohibition didn't work with alcohol, Schmid said. It isn't working with marijuana, and it won't work with guns and tobacco, he said. "Respect for the law is being eroded every day by laws that are unenforceable," he said.Noble sentiments, perhaps. But what are PRA's prospects in an era in which powerful forces are pushing in the other direction? Just about nil, according to Bill Ballenger, publisher of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics. "If there is anything that has proven true about ballot proposals, it's that you have to keep them simple," Ballenger said.This one -- which also would end the practice of allowing law enforcement to keep assets seized from suspected lawbreakers -- is "just too much," Ballenger said.Schmid is aware of the obstacles. He and his father, Allan Schmid, were involved in successful ballot proposals to limit taxes and politicians' terms. Both were reasonably well financed; this one isn't, so far. Nor is Allan Schmid's initiative to reduce the state Legislature to part-time status. It's also targeted for the November 2000 election.But Schmid is relying on grassroots and cyberspace to make up for a lack of money. He's been running a Web site since June, and claims to have more than 500 contacts ready to circulate petitions. They need more than 302,000 signatures of registered voters to get on the ballot. Tonight, Greg Schmid will make a presentation on the PRA at a 7 p.m. meeting organized by the University of Michigan libertarian organization in Ann Arbor. The meeting is at Mason Hall. The PRA site is:http://198.109.165.99/ballot2000/ Published: November 18, 1999DAWSON BELL can be reached at 313-222-6609or by E-mail at dbell freepress.com Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Dankhank on November 19, 1999 at 14:31:29 PT: Hammer them!!!!!!!! No quarter for the tobacco industry.Hammer them till they die ...My mother-in-law just died of lung cancer ...The tobacco companies lied, spiked cigarettes to make them stronger and more addictive, and targeted children.No mercy for the liars, evil killers of our citizens.Take them out, NOW! Hemp n Stuff [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by sean on November 18, 1999 at 13:43:43 PT: Tobacco Companies Ummm maybe this is a dumb suggestion, but has anybody thought about approaching the tobacco companies, or people in the gun industry about this, they have lots of money and dont seem to be opposed to giving money to causes that will protect their self-interest, of which this ammendment would do. Just a thought to get some really BIG backing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Alexandre Oeming on November 18, 1999 at 12:18:42 PT: I'm ready! I'm from Saginaw, MI, and have been in contact with this Mr. Schmid. While i won't be moving back to MI until next May at the earliest, i've been getting friends and relatives to be ready to distribute petitions at the Hash Bash and put up flyers to indicate that petitions can be printed off the website and mailed in. Tell those you know and care about in MI about this and get them motivated! Let the drug nazis think they have the upper hand and then we'll beat them at the ballot box! It's certainly far from impossible and it will shake up the feds like there's no tomorrow! I can hardly wait... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Thomas on November 18, 1999 at 10:49:12 PT Could He Be Wrong "But what are PRA's prospects in an era in which powerful forces are pushing in the other direction? Just about nil, according to Bill Ballenger"We recently had a ballot initiative here in Utah in which a medium sized city was voting to outlaw new liquor licenses for restaurants. The backers predicted it would win by a 9 to 1 margin. Well, contrary to their predictions, it lost. Nobody knows what the public is really thinking until they actually express themselves at the polls so make sure and vote! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: